Jump to content

Frances Oldham Kelsey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 165.82.92.66 (talk) at 06:35, 29 April 2005. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Frances Oldham Kelsey (24 June 1914-) is a naturalized American pharmacologist most famous as a reviewer for the US Food and Drug Administration who refused to authorize thalidomide for market when she had serious concerns about the drug's safety.

That stand turned out to be more than justified when it was discovered that the drug penetrated the placenta and caused serious birth defects in infants.

Dr. Kelsey was hailed as a hero and was awarded the President’s Award Distinguished Federal Civilian Service medal by President John F. Kennedy for averting the disaster in the US. Furthermore, drug testing was reformed to avoid similar problems.

Born in Cobble Hill on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, she received a B.Sc. and M.Sc. from McGill University in 1935 and received a Ph.D. in pharmacology at the University of Chicago.

In 2000 she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

The Frances Kelsey Secondary School in Mill Bay, British Columbia is named in her honour.

References

  • "Frances Kelsey". Canada Heirloom Series. March 13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Frances_Oldham_Kelsey&oldid=12963982"